Special Section
PRO NITROUS
JIM HALSEY
SEASON-LONG POINTS leader Jim Halsey maintained his consistently high performance level throughout the season to secure his third consecutive Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous world championship . Halsey is now the first driver in PDRA history to win three Pro Nitrous titles . He won five races , as well as the Pro Nitrous vs . Pro Boost shootout
at the inaugural Summit Racing Equipment PDRA ProStars race .
“ This is like a dream come true for me ,” said Halsey , who was the No . 1 qualifier six times , helping him and engine builder Gene Fulton secure the Nitrous Wars title . “ We ’ ve been racing for 20-some years , probably close to 30 years , and to do three in a row and to run the numbers we ’ re running , it ’ s incredible . My driving is pretty decent at times , not so decent at other times , but we ’ re very happy . I have a great team . They ’ re just as happy as I am about it and they deserve way more credit than I do .”
PRO BOOST
KEVIN RIVENBARK
DESPITE A TOP-END crash at one of the last races of the season ,
Kevin Rivenbark was able to maintain his points lead long enough to secure his third Penske / PRS Pro Boost presented by WS Construction world championship . It was also the third consecutive title and fifth overall PDRA world championship for the GALOT Motorsports team .
“ Every championship that we win proves what kind of team and effort we put into it ,” said Rivenbark , who won his other championships in 2016 and 2019 . “ Everybody says if you get so many championships , it ’ s just another thing , and it is to a certain extent . It ’ s still a feeling of accomplishment for me as a person or as a team for GALOT and Proline Racing . It ’ s hard to put it in words . I don ’ t want to say it ’ s expected now , but at the same you know you ’ ve been on top and you don ’ t have anywhere to go but down . You just have to push harder to keep that momentum going to stay on top .”
Rivenbark finished the season driving Stan Shelton ’ s screw-blown Culp Lumber Mustang at the last two races . The GALOT team plans to return with two cars this season , one driven by Daniel Pharris and the other driven by 2020 world champion John Strickland . Rivenbark plans to sit out most of the season to attend to business interests .
EXTREME PRO STOCK
CHRIS POWERS
WHEN LEGENDARY engine builder Sonny Leonard passed away in
January 2021 , Chris Powers knew he had to go out and give his best performance yet . Powers , a friend and customer of Leonard ’ s , went on to win two races in five final-round appearances on his way to claiming his first Liberty ’ s Gears Extreme Pro Stock presented by AED Competition world championship .
“ We wanted to let the world know that Sonny ’ s Racing Engines is here to stay ,” said Powers , who made his Extreme Pro Stock debut in 2017 . “ Everybody at Sonny ’ s stepped up : his daughter , Kelly [ Ward ], his wife , Francis , and his son-in-law , Jr . [ Ward ]. It means a lot to them and to us to be able to give Sonny ’ s this championship . For my entire team – Rob Bealko and Chuck Samuel and my daughters and my wife and son – it means the world to us to be able to accomplish something at such a high level like this .”
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